不起 bùqǐ cannot afford Definitions Defs Origin Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 2 sentences 他家里很穷,供不起他上学。 tā jiālǐ hěn qióng, gōng bùqǐ tā shàngxué. His family is very poor and cannot afford to send him to school. Source: Dong Chinese Dictionary我请不起律师。 wǒ qǐng bùqǐ lǜshī. I can't afford a lawyer. Source: OpenSubtitles